Shaun Donovan, Office of Management and Budget director, told the audience at the United Nations’ Climate Action Summit that failure to adapt to climate change can compromise global economies and security.
Donovan’s call for global collective action toward resilience amid climate change builds on the Paris Agreement signed in December 2015, according to a White House press release published Friday.
“In Paris, we mobilized with the recognition that each ton of CO2 matters, not whose smokestack is implicated,” Donovan said.
“And this morning we gather to reaffirm that: Mitigation of emissions is not the only shared challenge; adapting to the impacts of climate change also demands collective action.”
The OMB director further cited climate change scenarios that could impact world economies and security such as possible floods in Wall Street that could affect global commerce and the drought in Syria that contributed to political unrest.
Donovan also highlighted the U.S. government’s efforts to support worldwide adaptation to climate change including the commitment to contribute $3 billion to the Green Climate Fund.
He added the U.S. aims to support the disaster readiness of at-risk countries through scientific and technological initiatives like climate data and early-warning systems.
